Method for finishing knitted wear



Oct. 9, 1962 G. c. A. ALRIC METHOD FOR FINISHING KNITTED WEAR 7Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 2, 1960 C)( @Q wwwww GUST/1V1. CHARLES AUGUSTEALRIC A T RNEYS G. C. A. ALRIC METHOD FOR FINISHING KNITTED WEAR Oct. 9,1962 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2, 1960 GUSTAV/fCHARLES/JUGUSCJTVENALRIC ATTORNEYS G. C. A. ALRIC METHOD FOR FINISHINGKNITTED WEAR Oct. 9, 1962 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 2, 1960 Q hmwwwwwwmm Q a I .A m 8 wmvfl. WWWW A Q Q T Q G M .Mw O

, Imam-0 GUSTAV-E CHARLES AUG STE ALRIG By w EN RH Oct. 9, 1962 G. c. A.ALRlC 3,057,177

METHOD FOR FINISHING KNITTED WEAR Filed Feb. 2, 1960 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 n(A) 7/ 7 $68 N67 F 7 7? III W W 0 69 67 @QQCI m um I I l [74 75 GUS TAVCHARLES AUGUSTE ALRIC I 016%: Mm

AT TTTT EYS Oct. 9, 1962 G. c. A. ALRlC 3,057,177

METHOD FOR FINISHING KNITTED WEAR Filed Feb. 2, 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 6INVENTOR GUST/WE CHARLES AUGUSTE ALRKJ y MVM ATTORNEYS 1962 G. c. A.ALRIC 3,057,177

METHOD FOR FINISHING KNITTED WEAR Filed Feb. 2, 1960 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,057,177 Patented Oct.9, 1962 3,957,177 METHOD FOR FINllSHlNG KNITTED WEAR Gustave CharlesAuguste Alric, 17 Rue Benoit Malon, Sainte-Savine, France Filed Feb. 2,1960, Ser. No. 6,131 Claims priority, application France Apr. 2, 1955 7Claims. (Cl. 66-89) The present invention, which is acontinuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 576,254, filed March30, 1956 which has now become abandoned, has for its object thefinishing of knitted fabrics on straight bar knitting machines and itwill be more particularly described hereinafter with reference, by wayof example, to a stocking. But, obviously, it is applicable equally wellto any knitted wear. Said invention has for its object in particular thetermination of a knitted fabric, in a manner such that the ends of saidfabric cannot ravel.

Said invention has consequently for its object a methed for producing apositive locking of the last loop or loops of a fabric and it has alsofor its object, by way of novel articles of manufacture, any knittedwear or article of hosiery finished through said method.

For sake of simplicity, the expression stocking" will be usedhereinafter for designating such a fabric.

Similarly, the expression terminal loops will be used for designatingthe loops which are obtained as a consequence of the normal narrowingsteps executed for finishing the stocking or as aconsequence of theknitting of one or two supplementary rows as executed for purposes to bedefined hereinafter with a view to producing the final locking of thefabric.

An object of the invention is to provide such a finishing of thestocking by resorting solely to the mechanisms provided normally onstraight bar knitting machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a finishing of thestocking through the agency of a thread passing through the terminalloop or loops of said stocking, in a manner such that said loops cannotladder and the locking remains operative even when said thread is drawnoutwardly.

Another object of the invention consists in providing a positive lockingof the terminal loops of the stocking under conditions such that the tipof the stocking shows no extra thickness.

A still further object of the invention consist in providing such apositive locking of the terminal loops forming the tip of the stockingin a manner such that said stocking may be dyed, sized or treated in anyother manner before it is sewn, and without any risk of said terminalloops being any longer locked and thereby liable to ladder.

To accomplish these various objects, the invention covers a methodaccording to which the terminal loops of the fabric are distributed intoas many groups of loops as there are locking threads, each group ofloops being carried by a needle, and a locking thread is caused to passthrough each group of loops, said operation being executed by resortingto the normal mechanisms provided on the knitting machine.

According to another aspect of the invention, the method is chieflycharacterized by the fact that, after the usual narrowing in steps havebeen executed for the formation of the tip of the stocking until areduced number of loops has been obtained, said loops are superposedover the same needle or over as many needles as there are lockingthreads, through the agency of the normal mechanisms of the knittingmachine providing for the transfer of the loops, each of the loopcarrying needles is caused to sink one of the locking threads and theknocking over is proceeded with, so that each of said locking threadspasses through the corresponding group of loops, the locking thread iscut between the corresponding feeder and the needles and the fabric isdrawn out perpendicularly to the needles, while the last loop is stillon the corresponding needle.

By reason of the last loop remaining still on the needle, the threadslides over said needle and its free end passes through the loops andthe thread remains thus positioned across the loops so as to lock them.

More particularly, when the stocking is knitted with a single thread,the narrowings are continued until four loops at the utmost areobtained, which loops are superposed over a single needle and theknitting thread is used for forming the locking thread which is sunk bythe needle carrying the four loops.

It i usual for very fine stockings to have a reinforced tip, as providedby knitting it with two threads: a ground thread and a reinforcingthread. More particularly in this case, applicants method consists insubdividing the terminal loops into two groups including each at theutmost four loops, in superposing the loops of each group over a singleneedle and in sinking the ground thread by one loop-carrying needle andsinking the reinforcing thread by the other loop-carrying needle.

The industrial execution of applicants method shows that the positivelocking of the terminal loops by a locking thread or threads is thusobtained in an entirely reliable manner. However, it may occur thatcertain disturbances arise, following which the thread which shouldnormally pass through the terminal loops of the stocking is completelydrawn out of said loops when the stocking is drawn out perpendicularlyto the needles after the thread has been cut off at the output of thefeeder.

Consequently, the invention has for a still further obr ject toeliminate the normal or fortuitous causes producing this drawback andeach of the means proposed for this purpose constitutes therefore apractical and important feature of the invention, since it allowscutting out completely all scrap and waste.

It is an important matter, in fact, for the locking thread to passreadily through the superposed loops carried by a single needle, duringa final sinking and knocking over executed with the needle carrying saidloops; in the case, in particular, where the terminal loops are knittedwith a ground thread and a reinforcing thread and are consequentlydouble, an important feature of the invention consists in executing atleast one row of loops with a single thread, in a manner such that it isno longer necessary to superpose a number of double loops on a singleneedle.

A further drawback which may be met consists in that the thread is sunkduring the last sinking step, both by the needle carrying the loops andby another needle located to either side of said loop-carrying needle.

It is easy to ascertain, as a matter of fact, as explained hereinafter,that the engagement of the thread by another needle in addition to thatcarrying the loop, has for its result to remove completely the lockingthread but of the terminal loop so that the result sought for cannot beobtained.

According to the location of the needle carrying the loops withreference to the sinker adjacent said needle, the presence of saidsupplementary loop to be termed hereinafter a parasitic loop may beindifferent or troublesome. It does not prevent the locking action whensaid parasitic loop is formed between the needle carrying the superposedloops and the feeding means when the latter are in their final positionat the moment of the cutting of the thread. However, this parasitic loopprevents completely the desired locking action if it is located on theopposite side with reference to the needle carrying the loops.

FIG. 3.

Some of these undesired loops are formed automatically through the factthat the thread is fed by the sinkers simultaneously to two needles at atime.

A further category of undesired loops is formed fortuitously because theframes are bestowed of necessity with a certain lack of accuracy,chiefly as concerns the position in which the feeding means are stopped,the more or less important mechanical rebounding of the feeding meansagainst their stop, the swaying of the threads, etc.

The diiferent steps provided by the invention which allow cutting outthe formation of such undesired loops will be disclosed hereinafter withfurther detail and defined in the accompanying claims and, obviously,they form a substantial part of the method claimed.

The diiferent means provided for the execution of the invention aredisclosed hereinafter in full detail, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings, illustrating the main features of the invention.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 6a and 7 illustrate the different finishing steps of afabric as obtained in accordance with my invention.

FIGS. 8 to 12 show the different stages of the finishing of a fabricknitted with two threads.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate diagrammatically a locking method executed ontwo groups of two simple loops, the fabric being knitted with areinforcing thread.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate diagrammatically a modification of theembodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 17 to 20 illustrate an embodiment according to which the positionof the feeder is controlled during the looping.

FIGS. 21 to 24 illustrate a modification of this positioning during theloop sinking procedure.

FIGS. 25 and 26 illustrate a method for removing parasitic loops.

FIGS. 27 to 31 illustrate an embodiment according to which the lockingis performed on a single loop.

FIG. 32 illustrates diagrammatically a further modification.

FIG. 33 illustrates a modification of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 27to 31.

FIG. 34 illustrates an embodiment resorting to a transfer point whenexecuting dissymmetric final transfers.

FIGS. 35 to 39 illustrate a further embodiment according to which thefinal transfers are symmetrical.

FIGS. 35a to 35c illustrate a manner of shifting transfer points.

Turning to FIG. 1, which shows a chain-switch 1, the last loop 2 ofwhich has just been knitted and is still carried on the needle 3, thethread fed by the feeder 6 is cut at 4 (FIG. 2) and the chain stitch 1is drawn in the direction of the arrow F, the thread forming the loop 2will move at 7 out of the preceding loop so that the chain stitchassumes the appearance illustrated in Obviously the loops of said chainstitch cannot unravel since the thread 4 looks the loop 8 as if it was akey. If the thread 4 is taken up, this closes the loop 8 and forms asort of knot.

In the practical embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7, the fabric 9has been knitted with a single thread and has been narrowed so as topresent only four loops 10, 11, 12 and 13 on the corresponding needles14, 15, 16, and 17. This reduction to four of the number of loops isobtained through the normal operation of the knitting machine andchiefly of the transfer points and feeders.

The four loops 10, 11, 12 and 13 are transferred through transferringhooks onto the needle 14 and the feeder is transferred towards the righthand side to feed the thread 18 in a manner such that the latter may betaken up by the needle 14 and form a single loop 19 as shown in FIG. 6.The thread 18 is then cut as in the case of FIG. 2 and the fabric isdrawn in the direction of the arrow F. As illustrated in FIG. 7. thethread 18 passes through the loops 10, 11, 12 and 13 and locks them in amanner similar to the locking of the loop 8 through the thread 4 asshown in FIG. 3. When transferring the loops onto the needle 14 asillustrated in FIG. 5, it is possible obviously to transfer these loopsin any desired sequence: for instance, first the loop 12 and then theloop 11 and lastly the loop 13. It is also possible to transfer the loop11 onto the needle 14 and the loop 13 onto the loop 16 and then theloops 12 and 13 together onto the needle 14. This produces a passage ofthe thread in a different sequence through the loops but the lockingremains the same as precedingly.

If the thread 18 is accidentally taken up by the needle 14a (FIG. 6a)located at the left of the needle 14, it is apparent that the thread 18,used as a locking thread, will slip round said needle 14a and willconsequently be drawn out of loops 1043, which are no longer locked. Itis thus important to positively avoid the formation of parasitic loopssuch as the loop accidentally formed round the needle 14a.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 12 relates to the case wherethe fabric 20 is knitted by means of two threads 21 and 22 which are fedrespectively by the feeders 23 and 24. Through any suitable conventionalreduction operation, the number of loops of the fabric is reduced tofour, to the loops 25, 26, 27 and 28 carried respectively by the needles29, 3t), 31 and 32. The two feeders are both on the left hand side ofthe needle 29.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the feeder 24 is shifted at the moment of theknocking over so as to be drawn between the needles 31 and 32 andconsequently, when the needles rise again, the thread 22 passes behindthe needles 29 and 3% and cannot be caught by said needle at the momentof the following looping. At this moment, the loop 26 is transferredonto the needle 29 and the loop 28 onto the needle 31, as shown in FIG.10.

The two feeders 2'3 and 24 are then shifted each through the intervalbetween two needles and the looping is performed in a manner such that,as illustrated in FIG. 11, the thread 21 from the feeder 23 is taken upby the needle 29 and the thread 22 from the feeder 24 is taken up by theneedle 31. It is sutiicient at such moments to cut the threads 2122 ofthe exit of the feeders and then to draw the fabric in the direction ofthe arrow F to obtain, as illustrated in FIG. 12, a locking of the loops25 and 26 through the thread 21 and of the loops 27 and 28 by the thread22.

In the embodiments disclosed hereinabove, chiefly in the case of FIGS.*8 to 12, it is possible to finish the fabric through a different numberof loops and to transfer the loops in a different manner. Thus, in thecase of four final loops, it is possible to transfer equally well threeloops onto one needle, the second needle retaining only the loop carriedby it; thus for instance it is possible to transfer the loop 2 6 and theloop 28 onto the needle 31. It is also possible to finish the knittedfabric by a different number of loops, say 6 or 8, and to transfer twoloops onto the first needle, three loops onto the second or three loopsonto the first and three loops onto the second, all which combinationsmay be executed as easily.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 12, the four last loops areobtained with threads fed by the two feeders 23 and 24 in accordancewith the conventional symmetrical narrowing method. Thereafter, throughtransfer with the so-called transfer plate with one transfer hook fortwo needles or through two transfers with one plate with one transferhook for four needles, the transfer is executed in the direction of thefeeder onto two needles 29 and 31 separated by a free needle 30; theseneedles carrying the loops are near the sinkers which are on the side ofthe feeder at the moment at which the formation of the four loops isended (FIGS. 8 to 11).

The feeder 24 is shifted during the knocking over of the last row sothat the corresponding thread passes behind the needles 29 and 39 and isengaged at the following looping only by the needles 31 and 32. Thefeeder 23 is stopped between the needles 31 and 32 by its suitablypositioned stop and its thread is engaged only by the needles 29 and 30.Each of the loop carrying needles sinks thus only one thread (FIG. 11)and the latter after its cutting is drawn by said needles through twodouble loops during the last knocking over and it locks them as shown inFIG. 12.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, the fabric is executednormally up to the row 39 over the needles 40, 41, 42. and 43. Each loopof the row 39 is a double loop obtained through the threads 44 and 45fed respectively by the feeders 46 and 47.

In accordance with my invention, the feeder 46 is left on the left handselvedge and the rows 48 and 49 are knitted with the thread 45 from thefeeder 47.

In the position illustrated in FIG. 13, there have been knitted two rowsand, upon knocking over of the second row or course, the feeder 47 hasbeen shifted as mentioned hereinabove into the position 47a.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, the loop 51 is transferred onto the needle 40and the loop 53 onto the needle 42 so that the needle 40 carries twosimple loops 50 and 51 while the needle 42. carries two simple loops 5%and 53. The feeders 46 and 47 being brought by the last looping into theposition 46b and 47b illustrated in FIG. 14, (the feeder 46 beingstopped first by a suitably located stop), the thread 44 is caught bythe needle 40 and the thread 45 by the needle 42, so that each thread isdrawn through the loops carried precedingly by the needles 40 and 42.

Once the terminal knocking over has been performed, the conditions arethose illustrated in FIG. 14 and it is possible to finish the operationby cutting the threads as disclosed for the preceding embodiments, thesliding of the threads being all the easier since the needles 40 and 42carry only a single loop each. In this embodiment, it is possible toresort indifferently to the feeder 46 or to the feeder 47 for knittingthe two last courses of single loop.

It will be observed that, in the embodiment of FIGS. 13, 14, it isnecessary to knit two rows of simple loops in order that the feeder bein its initial position, on the left side of the fabric, in order toavoid formation of a parasitic loop such as the loop shown on the needle14a in FIG. 6a.

This manner of finishing is obviously applicable to all the possiblemodifications in the method and the strength of the fabric is notmodified since the courses or rows of single loops 48 and 49 are engagedin the seam of the finished stocking; by reason of the presence of theselast rows of single loops not only the sliding of the loops on theneedle is improved but, in certain cases, the same is the case for theknocking over.

In the embodiment which has just been described, two rows of singleloops 48 and 49 have been knitted.

In the embodiment of FIGS. and 16, the fabric is executed normally up tothe row 54 of four double loops obtained with the threads 55 from thefeeder 56, and 57 from the feeder 58.

The feeder 56 is left in alignment with the right hand selvedge and afurther row of single loops 59, 6t), 61 and 62 is knitted on the needles63, 64, 65- and 66. The feeder 58 is then in register with the left handselvedge. The feeder 56 being returned into the position 56a, the loop61 is transferred onto the needle 66 and the loop 59 onto the needle 64.The final looping is then performed in the conventional manner, thefeeder 58 entering the position 582) which is distant by two needleintervals from the selvedge position and the feeder 56 entering theposition 56b which forms the selvedge position.

This leads to the obtention of the diagram illustrated in FIG. 16 and itis then possible to finish by cutting the threads, as disclosed in thepreceding examples. The ad vantage of this latter modification consistsin that only one supplementary knitting course with simple loops isobtained. In this embodiment, the part played by the feeders cannot beinterchanged and it is possible to obtain a parasitic loop in the caseof FIGS. 13 and 15 only in the needle located to the left hand side ofthe needle 66 and, in the case of FIGS. 14 and 16, not only on theneedle on the left hand side of the needle 66 but also on the needle 65.

In the preceding examples, the shifting of one of the feeders isperformed at the moment of the knocking over while the sinkers havereceded into the frame so as to allow such a shifting since the feederis normally engaged inside the bulk of the sinkers.

When the needles have risen again, the thread suitably carried alongthrough the usual movement of the sinkers passes behind predeterminedneedles.

In certain knitting machines, the sinkers do not collapse completelywithin the frame at the moment of the knocking over. The shifting of thefeeder is thus impossible at such a moment and may be performed duringthe transfer of the loops, i.e. when the sinkers have of necessityreceded transiently. The end of the movement produces the desired resultsince the movement of the needles and of the sinkers is substantiallyidentical with their movement after the knocking over.

This shifting during the transfer has the advantage of positioning thethreads at the last moment and of preventing any abnormal shiftingthereof through the transfer movement.

The shifting of the feeder above referred to, performed during theknocking over or during the transfer, is provided while the drivingmembers of the feeder bars are inoperative.

Said shifting is therefore produced through auxiliary means for instancea shim of a suitable thickness inserted between the stop of the selvedgecarriage and the projection of the feeder bar. Said movement may beprovided by hand after stopping the machine or automatically throughspecial means provided to this end.

A further feature of my invention consists in positioning the feederduring its looping movement while it is being moved through conventionalmeans, simply by inserting automatically, through the usual devicesprovided on most extant machines, a suitable stop limiting the travel ofthe feeder.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 17 to 20, the positioning of the feederswhich provides that each thread may be engaged only by the proper needleis performed automatically during the looping by limiting its travel atthe desired moment. The feeder for the thread 71 is stopped during thelooping two needles before the needle 74. Thus, the loops 67 and 68 aredouble loops and the loops 69 and 70 are simple loops, the two formerbeing obtained both with the ground thread 71 and with the reinforcingthread 72, the two latter loops being obtained solely through the thread72.

As illustrated in FIG. '18, the loop 67 is transferred onto the needle73 which carries the loop 68 and the loop 69 is transferred onto theneedle 74 carrying the loop 70.

The last looping is then performed as illustrated in FIG. 19, saidlooping being bounded by suitable stops for the feeders so that eachthread may be collected by one needle only, the thread 71 passingthrough two loops 67 and 68 and the thread 72 through two loops 69 and7t and the procedure is finished in the manner disclosed hereinabove soas to obtain a locking of the loops as illustrated in FIG. 20.

FIGS. 21 to 24 illustrate an embodiment which is substantially identicalbut provides for all the terminal loops being simple loops which areless subject to give parasitic loops. According to said embodiment, asupplementary row or course is knitted, each feeder providing forlooping only on two needles in said course so that all the terminalloops (FIG. \21) are simple loops and form two groups separated in themiddle; the procedure de- 7 scribed with reference to FIGS. 17 to 20 isadhered so as to obtain a similar looking as illustrated in FIG. 24.

At the moment of the final transfer executed as described with referenceto FIGS. 18 and 22, the thread may in certain knitting machines engagethe wrong side of the needles 92 and 94 (FIG. so that, during thefollowing looping, a loop is caught by the needles 92 and 94 (FIG. 26)

It is easy to ascertain that if the threads 101 and 103 are cut and ifthe fabric is taken up outwardly, there is no locking obtained in such acase since the needle 92 will cause the thread 101 to move out of theloops 97 and 98. Similarly, the needle 94 will cause the thread to leavethe loops 99 and 180'.

In other words, each time a needle carries a loop of thread ahead of theterminal operative needle, the fact of cutting the thread and taking upthe fabric prevents the locking of the loops to be obtained so that anunravelling becomes possible.

The knitting of a further course causes said loops to drop since thethread 1M is not caught by the needle 92 during its rearward movementand similarly the thread 103 is not caught by the needle 94- by reasonof the stationary positions assumed by the feeders just beyond thesinker located between the needles 92 and 93 and the sinker locatedbetween the needles 94 and 35.

It should be remarked that, in the case illustrated of the shiftingmovement eifected during the knocking over or in the case of FIG. 13,the parasitic loop is formed solely on the outer needle, but not on thefree needle in the middle.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 25 and during the looping of theloop 104, the thread M1 is engaged under the tip of the needle 94together with said loop. During the next looping which provides for thedropping of both loops, the thread 101 moves towards the needle 93 andreleases the needle 94, but it is possible for the parasitic loop 1% toremain floating without remaining engaged underneath the tip of theneedle 94. The thread 1%]. is then caused to pass through said loop andthere is formed, as shown in FIG. 26, a loop illustrated in dotted linesand said loop can no longer be dropped. As a matter of fact, loops wouldcontinue forming over it since it is located between two sinkers beyondwhich the feeder projects in both directions.

In the position illustrated in FIG. 25, the parasitic loop formed on theneedle 94 can be eliminated by being taken up by a transferring hook,without being transferred onto a needle.

This drawback does not arise when the feeder is shifted during theknocking over .at the end of the transfer except in the case of FIG. 15.

When the shifting is performed during the looping or in the mannerdisclosed in FIG. 15, it is possible to avoid the above describeddrawback when the arrangement is such that there is no middle needleforming the loop and catching the thread, which can be performed byproviding for the ending either on a single needle or else on twosulficiently spaced needles, say on two needles separated from eachother by three needles free of loops.

FIGS. 27 to 31 show the finishing of the fabric on a single needle. Insaid embodiment, the fabric is finished in a manner identical with thatreferred to on the needles 7576-77 and 78. The object of the transferexecuted thenafter is to collect the loops carried by said needles ontwo needles, say the needles 77 and '78 which are located between twosin-kers. It is convenient to provide said transfer through the abovementioned transfer plate which provides for the transfer by one needle,said transfer plate carrying a transfer hook for four needles at thedesired location.

Through this transfer plate it is possible to transfer the loop 79 fromthe needle 75 onto the needle 76 on which is already located the loop 80(FIG. 27) and then the loops 79 and 80 onto the needle 77 carryingalready the loop 8 1 (:FIG. 28). The looping is then operated for whichthe feeder is positioned at 83, said looping being performed on the twoneedles 7'7 and 78; the feeder is shifted outside the two sinkers, thestop having been automatically positioned in a suitable location. Duringthe transfer, the thread may have surrounded the needle 78a precedingthe needle 78 (FIG. 29). In order to remove the parasitic loop 79a thusformed, I knit a further row of loops on the needles 77 and 78, thefeeder entering then the position $5. m. The thread is not caught by theneedle 7 8a and consequently the loop 7% is automatically eliminated(FIG. 30).

The following operation consists in transferring onto the needle 78 theloop shown in FIG. 30 as carried by the needle 77. The same stops serveagain for the looping and the locking is brought to an end by stoppingone of said feeders before these final rows or courses; the locking isobtained through a single thread which is preferable since the slidingof the thread for the final operation is thus furthered; when the loopis transferred from the needle 77 onto the needle 75; and a furtherlooping is performed, the thread may again this time surround the needle78a (FIG. 31) and produce a further parasitic loop 77a.

As illustrated in FIG. 31, the knitting of the further loop 77b issufi'lcient for the loop "77:: to drop in the manner already disclosedfor the loop 79a.

It will be remarked that if the parasitic loop, say 77a is objectionablefor the actual locking operation and it is desired to make it disappear,it is useful for the knitting of the final loop on a single needle sincethe interval between it and the main loop provides for the knocking overof the latter 'tlliOU.lf1 a bearing on the knocking over plates.Consequently, it is useful to retain said parasitic loop until the finalloop is knitted and to drop it only at the last moment because said loop77:: associated with the normal loop on the needle 77 produces aninterval between the loops which is favorable for the behaviour of thefabric while ensuring a correct execution of the terminal loopillustrated as carried on the needle 78 in FIG. 3-1. Of course, theabove described operation as executed on four operative needles 7-5 to'78 may be executed exactly in the same manner on eight needles (FIG.32) without this leading to the drawbacks referred to with reference toFIG. 26 since the final loops remain sufliciently spaced and no loop maybe sunk by the needles located between the loop-carrying needle.

As illustrated in said FIG. 32, I transfer in a first operation theloops carried by the needles 34 and onto the needle 86 and the loopscarried by the needles 88 and 8% onto the needle 9t). The conditionsobtained are then similar to those illustrated in FIG. 26. A row is thenknitted so as to obtain conditions similar to those of FIG. 27 in whichonly the needles 86, 87, 90 and 91 carry each a simple loop. A lasttransfer is then executed from the needle $6 onto the needle 37 and fromthe needle 9% onto the needle 91 so that the final looping looks throughone thread the two loops carried by the needle 87 and through the otherthread the two loops carried by the needle 91. Of course, it is possibleto knit a further simple loop on the needles 87 and 91 before executingthe final locking.

As illustrated in FIG. 33 which shows a modification of FIGS. 27 and 31,it is possible to perform the operations illustrated in FIGS. 27 and 30*by leaving the two feeders in their operative condition so as to obtaindouble loops up to the final loop 77b which, as explained with referenceto FIG. 31, has been knitted so as to remove the parasitic loop 77a.Said embodiment has appeared in practice as particularly suitable.

According to a further embodiment of my invention it it possible toexecute the terminal transfer in a dissymmetric manner as in the case ofa file plate by resorting to one of the transfer points; this is allowedby the fact that such transfer points may move with reference to theirdriving worm and consequently it is possible for the final transfer torelease one of the transfer points so as to allow the other to movebeyond the middle of the set of knitting needles. The end of the normaltransfers is performed through two needles with a return movement by onebut if after the execution of the four last loops the return movement iscut out and the transfer is provided for one loop or needle Without anyreturn, the result obtained is the same as that described as obtainedwith a file plate or bar.

It is also possible to proceed with a first transfer by two needles anda last transfer by one which cuts out a dipping and leads to the diagramof FIG. 34.

In said FIG. 34, the fabric is engaged on the needles 116, 117, 118 and119 with the loops 121i, 121, 122 and 123. One of the transfer pointsbeing prevented from moving, the loop 121) is transferred onto theneedle 118 carrying the loop 122 and the loop 121 is transferred ontothe needle 119 carrying the loop i123. The loops 124, 125 are thenknitted on said needles 11$ and 119 as also the loops 1% and 127. Theloop 126 is then transferred onto the needle 1 19 while keeping the sametransfer point stationary and the locking is brought to an end in themanner already disclosed.

During these transfers, and during the knitting of the correspondingrows, parasitic loops 128 and 129 may be formed and they are eliminatedin the known manner.

In the embodiment which has just been described, one of the transferpoints is released so as to allow the other transfer point to producethe desired transfer.

To provide for this transfer, the transfer point on the left hand sideshould project by twice the needle interval beyond the middle of theneedles at which location the transfer points are normally in jointingrelationship.

Since the two transfer points retain a symmetrical movement, it isnecessary to shift the last transfer point which is to becomeinoperative at least by four needle intervals towards the right handside so that the transfer point which is actually operative may move bytwo further needle intervals towards the right hand side.

The arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 35a to 35c show how it is possibleto release simply the transfer point which is not in use.

FIG. 35a shows a conventional drive for the transfer point; the shiftingof said bar or transfer point is obtained through a rotation of thethreaded spindle 116 over which is screwed the nut 117 carrying theprojection 118. The transfer point bar 119 carries a projection 12%rigid with the threaded rod 121 over which the sleeve 122 is screwedand, as illustrated, the projections 118 and 120 are urged towards eachother by the spring 123.

According to my invention, the sleeve 122 is cut at 124 for engagementby the tail end 125 of a strap 126, said tail end being secured in thecut by the pressure screw 127. Inside the strap is revo-lubly mounted alever 123 the end or" which cooperating with the strap is provided withtwo flat surfaces 123 and 13% forming an angle with each other. It isfound that, according to the position of the lever, either surface 129or 130 will bear against the projection 118 so as to modify thus therelative position of the transfer point bar with reference to itsdriving nut.

The flat surfaces 129 and 139 are at predetermined distances from theaxis of rotation of the lever and the passage from one surface to theother may thus shift the feeder by four or six needle intervals as maybe required.

It is sufficient to operate said lever at the moment at which the stageof special transfers according to my invention is reached, i.e.particularly when four loops have been obtained on four needles.

In many knitting machines there exists a system preventing the clampingso that the device does not dip when one transfer point engages theother. In order that such a system may not prevent the shifting of thetransfer point which has been described, it is sufficient to select as a1% transfer point bar to be shifted that transfer point bar whichcarries the part controlling said anti-clamping systern.

Thus, safety is always ensured when the transfer points engage eachother at the moment of the last normal transfer. After shifting theinoperative transfer point, this safety is no longer present but theclamping is no longer to be feared, provided this shifting of thetransfer point is more important than is actually necessary, say by 6 or8 needle intervals.

In the embodiments described, the transfers according to my inventionare executed in a dissymmetrical manner, for instance through theso-called file plate or else by operating only on one transfer point.These transfers may also be executed in a symmetrical manner by using upto the end the narrowing transfer hooks as illustrated in FIGS. 35 to39.

As illustrated in FIG. 35, the needles 105, 106, 107, 1118 carry each adouble loop 109, 110, 111, 112 and the two feeders 113, 114 are on theleft hand side selvedge. Turning now to FIG. 36, the loop 199 istransferred onto the needle 1% and the loop 112 onto the needle 107.

The feeder 113 is brought, as shown in FIG. 37, into position during thetransfer, so as to feed thread to the needle 1W7 only, the feeder 114remaining in its selvedge position. As illustrated in FIGS. 37 and 38,there is formed a loop on each of the needles 106 and 107, fol lowingthe shifting of the feeder 113 by two needle intervals and of the feeder114 by fou needle intervals.

In this embodiment, th needle is necessarily active during the transfersince it is separated from the feeder only by a sinker as provided bythe symmetrical transfer and this leads to the production of a parasiticloop (FIG. 39). To remove said parasitic loop or any other which may beformed, I take up said loop with a transfer hook and I leave said loopescaping from the hook without being transferred onto a needle.

It will be remarked in this embodiment of FIGS. 35 to 39 that the twoneedles to be considered at the end of the procedure are symmetricalwith reference to the central sinker.

lt also possible to resort to this final symmetrical transfer system byleaving free needles at the center. To this end, when one has reachedthe terminal stage on four needles, I first make an enlarging transferof loops which leaves the two central needles 106 and 107 free of anyloops. The feeders 113 and 114 are of course left in selvedge positionon the left hand side as mentioned but they are obviously located twoneedles further.

The difierent stages of execution of my method are those referred towith reference to FIGS. 36 to 39 and the parasitic loops which may beformed are eliminated in the manner disclosed with reference to the loop115.

Lastly, my invention covers also, and more particularly in the case ofthe embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 35 to 39, the execution of a crossedlooping, the two feeders being positioned so that the threads assbetween the two loops-carrying needles, the looping being performedafter these feeders have been shifted by two needles in oppositedirections.

Whatever embodiment of my invention is adopted, the final step consistsin having a simple loop on one needle or two simple loops each on oneneedle.

To finish the article of hosiery and after having set aside the feederbars, it is possible to cut the thread or threads at the exit of thesinkers and to take out the fabric perpendicularly to the needle; thethreads slide round the needles considered and provide for the lockingof the corresponding loop or loops; it may also be suflicient to take upslightly the fabric without cutting the thread, the taken up threadsdrop underneath the knocking over plates and it is possible to begin afurther article immediately, for instance another stocking. The threadis then cut and the stocking is removed at the desired moment, whichprovides for the locking and this modus operandi cuts out the lost timerequired for cutting the thread and during which the knitting machine isinoperative.

What I claim is:

1. In a process for finishing a fabric knitted on a straight barknitting machine, the step of narrowing said fabric by loop transferuntil a small number of terminal loops are obtained on the same numberof needles, pro viding as locking threads the same threads with whichthe last courses have been knitted, superposing said terminal loops ontoas many of said needles as there are locking threads, allowing each ofsaid needles to pick up one of said locking threads, knocking over saidterminal loops with said locking threads traversing said terminal loopsand forming loops on their respective needles, cutting said lockingthreads and removing the fabric from the machine in a directionperpendicular to said needles while the locking thread loops so obtainedare still around their respective needles.

2. In a process for finishing a fabric knitted on a straight barknitting machine and in which the last courses of loops are knitted witha ground thread and a reinforcing thread, the steps of narrowing saidfabric by loop transfer until four terminal loops are obtained on fourneedles, transferring to place two of said terminal loops onto a firstneedle of said needles and the two other terminal loops onto a secondneedle of said needles, allowing one of said first and second needles topick up the ground thread forming a loop thereon and the other needle topick up the reinforcing thread forming a loop, knocking over saidterminal loops, cutting said threads and removing from the machine in adirection perpendicular to said needles, the fabric while said groundthread and reinforcing thread loops are still around said first andsecond nedles in such manner that each of said two threads is passedthrough each group of two of said four terminal loops and forms alocking thread.

3. In .a process for finishing a fabric knitted on a straight barknitting machine, the step of narrowing said fabric by loop transferuntil four terminal loops are obtained on four needles, transferring toplace said terminal loops onto at least one of said needles and simultaneously placing a feeder adapted to furnish a locking thread so thatthe feeder is separated from said needle carrying the terminal loops bya forming sinker, permitting said needle to pick up said locking threadby displacement of said feeder, knocking over said terminal loops withsaid locking thread traversing said terminal loops and forming a loop onsaid one of said needles, cutting said locking thread and removing thefabric from the machine in a direction perpendicular to said needleswhile the last formed locking thread loop is still around said needle.

4. In .a process for finishing a fabric knitted on a straight barknitting machine and in which the last courses of loops are knitted witha ground thread furnished by a feeder and a reinforcing thread furnishedby a second feeder, the steps of narrowing said fabric by loop transferuntil four terminal loops are obtained on four needles,

positioning one of said feeders over a sinker located between the thirdand fourth needles of said needles, simultaneously transferring to placethe second of said terminal loops onto the first of said needlescarrying the first loop of said terminal loops and the fourth of saidterminal loops onto said third needle carrying the third loop of saidterminal loops, displacing said two feeders by two needles, knockingover said first and second terminal loops, cutting said threads andremoving the fabric from the machine in a direction perpendicular tosaid needles while said second and fourth loops are still around saidfirst and third needles in such manner that each of said two threadsconstitutes a locking means for a group of two of said four terminalloops.

5. In a process according to claim 1, in which a parasitic loop has beenformed adjacent one of the terminal loops, the steps of taking out saidparasitic loop from the corresponding needle with a transfer hook, andallowing said loop to lapse.

6. In .a process for finishing a fabric knitted on a straight barknitting machine in which the last courses of loops are knitted with aground thread fed from a feeder and a reinforcing thread fed fromanother feeder, the steps of narrowing said fabric by loop transferuntil eight terminal loops are obtained on eight needles, transferringto place the first two of said terminal loops on the third needle ofsaid needles and the fifth and sixth of said terminal loops on theseventh needle of said needles, knitting a course, transferring to placethe left hand side terminal loop on the fourth needle of said needles,form ing a last loop around said fourth needle with one of said twothreads, and a second last loop around said eighth needle with the otherthread, knocking over said terminal loops, cutting said threads andremoving the fabric from the machine in a direction perpendicular tosaid needles while said last loops so obtained are around theirrespective needles.

7. In a process for finishing a fabric knitted on a straight barknitting machine, the steps of narrowing said fabric by loop transferuntil four loops are obtained on four needles, transferring to place thefirst loop of said loops on the third needle of said needles and thesecond loop of said loops on the fourth needle of said needles by meansof a transfer point, knitting a course, transferring to place the lefthand side loop of said loops on said fourth needle, knitting twocourses, cutting the thread and removing the fabric from the machinewhile the last loop of said two courses so obtained is still around itscorresponding needle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,480,894 Alric Sept. 6, 1949 2,506,745 Schuessler May 9, 1950 2,507,530Mack May 16, 1950 2,507,532 Mack May 16, 1950 2,648,210 Skole et al.Aug. 11, 1953 2,800,006 Richter July 23, 1957

